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Abstract:

A method and apparatus is disclosed for removably coupling a sleeve of a
vehicle exhaust extraction system to a vehicle tailpipe. This apparatus
includes an adapter which is secured to the vehicle tailpipe with a
removable collar. After the removable collar is tightened around the
exterior of the adapter, the adapter is fixed to the vehicle tailpipe so
the adapter moves with the vehicle. The collar is configured to mate with
the adapter so it may quickly and easily separate from the adapter when
the vehicle pulls away.

Claims:

1. Apparatus for joining a vehicle exhaust evacuation system to a vehicle
tailpipe, which apparatus comprises:an adapter for securement to a
vehicle tailpipe, said adapter comprising a generally cylindrical outer
member and a generally cylindrical inner member, the inner member being
spaced from the outer member by a plurality of spacers secured to the
inner and outer members, a portion of said inner member extending
outwardly beyond an outer edge of the outer member; anda removable collar
adapted to surround the outer member of the adapter to secure the adapter
to the tailpipe.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an end ring secured to the
inner member.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said inner member is spaced from the
outer member by four spacers.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said spacers are welded to the inner
and outer members.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said outer member of said adapter has
a length less than the length of the inner member of the adapter.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising alignment members secured
to said outer member of said adapter sized and shaped to fit into slots
in a sleeve of a vehicle exhaust evacuation system.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said alignment members are secured to
an outer surface of said outer member of said adapter.

8. Apparatus for joining a vehicle exhaust evacuation system to a vehicle
tailpipe, which apparatus comprises:an adapter for securement to a
vehicle tailpipe, said adapter comprising an outer member and an inner
member, the inner member being spaced from the outer member by spacers
secured to the inner and outer members, a portion of said inner member
extending outwardly beyond an outer edge of the outer member and being
adapted to fit inside a sleeve of a vehicle exhaust evacuation system, a
portion of said outer member of said adapter having a plurality of spaced
slots and being sized to surround a vehicle tailpipe; anda removable
collar adapted to surround the outer member of the adapter to secure the
adapter to the tailpipe.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising alignment members secured
to said outer member of said adapter sized and shaped to fit into slots
in a sleeve of a vehicle exhaust evacuation system.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said alignment members are secured to
an outer surface of said outer member of said adapter.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising three alignment members
secured to said outer member of said adapter sized and shaped to fit into
slots in a sleeve of the vehicle exhaust evacuation system.

12. In combination, a sleeve attached to the end of a vehicle exhaust
evacuation system and an adapter for securing to a vehicle tailpipe,
which combination comprises:a sleeve of a vehicle exhaust evacuation
system, said sleeve having a plurality of spaced slots extending inwardly
from an edge thereof; andan adapter for securement to a vehicle tailpipe,
said adapter comprising an outer member and an inner member, the inner
member being spaced from the outer member by spacers secured to the inner
and outer members and extending therebetween, a portion of said inner
member extending outwardly beyond an outer edge of the outer member and
being adapted to fit inside said sleeve of said vehicle exhaust
evacuation system, said outer member of said adapter having a plurality
of alignment members adapted to fit into the spaced slots of the sleeve,
wherein said adapter may be separated from said sleeve.

13. The combination of claim 12 further comprising a removable collar
adapted to surround the outer member of the adapter to secure the adapter
to the tailpipe.

14. The combination of claim 12 wherein said outer member of said adapter
has a plurality of spaced slots and is sized to surround a vehicle
tailpipe.

15. The combination of claim 12 wherein said inner member of said adapter
has a flared end ring attached to said inner member.

16. The combination of claim 12 wherein said inner member of said adapter
is spaced from the outer member of the adapter by four spacers.

17. The combination of claim 12 wherein said spacers of said adapter are
welded to the inner and outer members.

18. The combination of claim 12 wherein said outer member of said adapter
has a length less than the length of the inner member of the adapter.

19. The combination of claim 12 further comprising an end ring welded to
the inner member of the adapter.

20. The combination of claim 19 wherein said end ring has a flared
portion.

Description:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001]This invention relates generally to vehicle exhaust extractions
systems for emergency vehicles, such as a fire truck or ambulance. More
particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus for attachment to a
tailpipe of an emergency vehicle and the method of using such apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]Emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, create a challenge due to
the nature of their use. A fire truck is usually backed into a firehouse
garage bay and readied for the next emergency call. When an emergency
call comes in, the fire truck must be started by one of the firefighters
while he waits for everyone to get properly dressed and board the vehicle
in their appropriate locations. During this time interval in which the
engine is running, exhaust gases exit the tailpipe of the vehicle. Due to
the closed nature of the fire bay, these exhaust gases must be vented
outside the building to the atmosphere for health and safety reasons.

[0003]There are many known emergency vehicle exhaust extraction systems,
many of which include a flexible hose which vents to the atmosphere at
one end and at the other end is secured to an apparatus or adapter for
securement to the tailpipe of the vehicle.

[0004]One known system utilizes magnets to removably secure an apparatus
located at the end of the hose to the vehicle tailpipe. In such a system,
the firefighters need not manually disconnect the hose assembly from the
tailpipe. Rather instead, once the garage door to the fire bay is opened,
the fire truck may merely exit the building, and the pulling force of the
hose pulls the apparatus off the vehicle tailpipe once the vehicle has
sufficiently exited the building. This system is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
Nos. 5,609,298 and 5,927,759, which are both fully incorporated by
reference herein.

[0005]To date, the exhaust pipes of such fire trucks have commonly been
five inches in diameter. However, new diesel engine regulations have
required the truck manufacturers to increase the diameter of the vehicle
tailpipe; an end portion of the tailpipe is now as large as seven inches
in diameter. Therefore, there is a need for an adapter which enables
known exhaust extraction systems to couple to a larger diameter tailpipe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006]The apparatus of this invention which accomplishes these objectives
and one aspect of this invention comprises an apparatus for joining a
vehicle exhaust evacuation system to a vehicle tailpipe. The apparatus
comprises: 1) an adapter for securement to a vehicle tailpipe and 2) a
removable collar which is used to secure the adapter to the vehicle
tailpipe.

[0007]The adapter comprises a generally cylindrical outer member and a
generally cylindrical inner member having a common longitudinal center
axis. The inner member is spaced from the outer member by a plurality of
spacers secured to the inner and outer members. More specifically, four
spacers are secured to the inner and outer members of the adapter and
extend therebetween. A portion of the inner member extends outwardly
beyond an outer edge of the outer member.

[0008]The removable collar is adapted to surround the outer member of the
adapter which upon being tightened secures the adapter to the tailpipe.

[0009]In one embodiment, a plurality of alignment members are secured to
an outer surface of the outer member. These alignment members are located
and sized to be received inside corresponding slots in a sleeve of a
vehicle exhaust evacuation system to properly align the sleeve of a
vehicle exhaust evacuation system so that upon being subject to
sufficient force, the sleeve pulls away from the adapter of the present
invention.

[0010]In the practice of this invention, the adapter is secured to the
vehicle tailpipe and travels with it. Therefore, when the vehicle pulls
out of the firehouse or similar building, the adapter separates from the
sleeve of the vehicle exhaust evacuation system and goes with the
vehicle. In one embodiment, the adapter has three alignment members which
function to prevent the adapter from extending too far into the sleeve of
the vehicle exhaust evacuation system. These alignment members, which are
sized and shaped to fit into slots in the sleeve of the vehicle exhaust
evacuation system, further function to align the adapter and sleeve
properly relative to each other to facilitate quick and easy separation
when the vehicle pulls away from the building. These alignment members
are welded or otherwise secured to the outer surface of the outer member
of the adapter and extend outwardly beyond an outer edge of the outer
member of the adapter. The present invention may be used with different
sleeves of vehicle exhaust evacuation systems; it is not intended to be
limited to sleeves having magnets on the inside thereof such as disclosed
in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,609,298 and 5,927,759. For example, another sleeve
suitable for use with the present invention is a pneumatically inflatable
sleeve lacking magnets. One advantage of the adapter of this invention is
the ability to provide a suitable coupling which may be quickly and
easily attached and then separated properly from an emergency vehicle
exhaust tailpipe which the vehicle pulls away from the fire bay or
building.

[0011]These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become
more readily apparent from the following description of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 is a partially diagrammatic perspective view of an apparatus
for joining a vehicle exhaust evacuation system to a vehicle tailpipe
with portions of the vehicle shown in phantom.

[0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle exhaust
evacuation system which comprises part of the present invention; and

[0018]FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle exhaust
evacuation system according to an alternative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019]Referring to the drawings, the apparatus 10 of this invention
comprises an adapter 12 and a collar 14 for joining a vehicle exhaust
evacuation system 16 to a vehicle tailpipe 18 extending outwardly from a
vehicle (shown in phantom in FIG. 1). The adapter 12 is shown secured to
the vehicle tailpipe 18 in FIG. 1 and remains attached to the vehicle
tailpipe 18 until one loosens the collar 14 by loosening the fastener 20
which functions to tighten and loosen the collar 14. As shown in FIGS. 2
and 3, the collar 14 is a one piece band of metal having two aligned
flanges 22, each having a hole 24 therethrough. The fastener 20 extends
through these holes 24 and may be used to tighten the collar 14 around
the portion of the adapter 12 which surrounds the exterior of the vehicle
tailpipe 18.

[0020]FIGS. 2-4 show the details of one embodiment of adapter 12. The
adapter 12 comprises a generally cylindrical outer member 26 having an
interior 28 and being open ended at both ends. This outer member 26 has
an outer edge 30 (furthest away from tailpipe 18) and an inner edge 32,
the linear distance between which defines a length L1 of the outer member
26 of the adapter 12. See FIG. 3. The outer member 26 has an outer
surface 34 and an inner surface 36, the distance therebetween which
defines the thickness T of the outer member 26 of the adapter 12. The
outer member 26 of the adapter 12 has an outer portion 38 having a first
inner diameter, an inner portion 40 of a second inner diameter larger
than the first inner diameter and a neck portion 42 between the outer and
inner portions 38, 40. Both outer and inner portions 38, 40, respectively
have the same longitudinal central axis A. See FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0021]The inner diameter of the inner portion 40 of the outer member 26 of
the adapter 12 is sized to fit over the vehicle tailpipe 18. A plurality
of spaced slots 44 extend inwardly from the inner edge 32 of the outer
member 26 of the adapter 12 and aid in fitting the outer member 26 of the
adapter 12 and more particularly, the inner portion 40 of the outer
member 26 of the adapter 12 over the vehicle tailpipe 18. Although FIG. 2
shows two slots 44 and FIG. 3 shows only one slot 44, the adapter 12 may
have any number of slots 44 to aid in securing the inner portion 40 of
the outer member 26 of the adapter 12 over the vehicle tailpipe 18.

[0022]The adapter 12 further comprises a generally cylindrical inner
assembly 45 having an interior 48 and being open ended at both ends. This
inner assembly 45 comprises a generally cylindrical inner member 46 and
an end ring 58 secured together via welding or any other suitable means.
In certain applications, the end ring 58 may be omitted, for example when
a non-magnetized sleeve is being used.

[0023]The inner member 46 has an outer edge 50 (furthest away from
tailpipe 18) and an inner edge 52 (shown in FIG. 3), the linear distance
between which defines a length L2 of the inner member 46 of the adapter
12. The inner member 46 has an outer surface 54 and an inner surface 56,
the distance therebetween which defines the thickness T1 of the inner
member 46 of the adapter 12.

[0024]At its outer end, the end ring 58 comprises a cylindrical portion 60
and a flared portion 62 which is flared outwardly to create a flare 64
extending circumferentially outward away from the longitudinally
extending central axis A of the adapter 12. The end ring 58 has an outer
edge 59 and functions to aid in the release of the sleeve 66 from the
adapter 12 in certain applications. The inner and outer members 46, 26
are secured together in an aligned manner to be coaxial, i.e. have the
same central axis A.

[0025]The inner member 46 is spaced from the outer member 26 of the
adapter 12 by four spacers 68 as shown in FIG. 4. The spacers 68 are each
secured to the inner surface 36 of the outer member 26 and to the outer
surface 54 of the inner member 46, preferably via welding, and extend
therebetween.

[0026]As shown in FIG. 3, the length L2 of the inner member 46 is greater
than the length L1 of the outer member 26. However, the inner and outer
member 46, 26, respectively may be any desired length. As shown in FIG.
3, the inner edge 52 of the inner member 46 is inside the interior 28 of
the outer member 26 and the outer edge 50 of the inner member 46 is
outside the interior 28 of the outer member 26.

[0027]In one embodiment, the adapter 12 further comprises three alignment
members 70 which are secured via welding to the outer surface 34 of the
outer member 26, as shown in FIG. 4. Each of these alignment members 70
is located, sized and shaped to fit into one of the slots 72 extending
inwardly from an edge 74 of the sleeve 66 of the vehicle exhaust
extraction system 16. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of these alignment
members 70 extends outwardly beyond the outer edge 30 of the outer member
26 of the adapter 12. Although three alignment members 70 are
illustrated, the adapter 12 may have any number of alignment members at
any desired locations.

[0028]FIG. 5 illustrates the interior of sleeve 66 of one embodiment of
the vehicle exhaust evacuation system 16. The sleeve 66 has an interior
76 with multiple magnet assemblies 78 (three being shown) secured with
fasteners 80 to the sleeve 66. The vehicle exhaust evacuation system 16
further comprises a rigid pipe 82 and a flexible hose 84. As shown in
FIG. 5, a stop 86 in the form of a wire formed into a clover shape is
secured inside the pipe 82 and functions to prevent unwanted objects from
being pulled into the hose 84.

[0029]FIGS. 2A and 5A illustrate an alternative embodiment of apparatus
10a. In this embodiment, the collar 14 is the same as in the embodiment
shown in FIGS. 1-5 and described herein. For simplicity, the numbers of
the elements remain the same. However, the adapter 12a and sleeve 66a of
this embodiment are slightly different that the adapter 12 and sleeve 66
of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5 and described herein. More
particularly, the adapter 12a is otherwise identical to the adapter 12,
but has no alignment members 70. The sleeve 66a of the vehicle exhaust
evacuation system 16a has an interior 76 without multiple magnet
assemblies. Instead this sleeve 66a has an inner member 88 and an outer
member 90 between which air is introduced in a pneumatic operation, known
in the industry. Sleeve 66a lacks any slots extending inwardly from the
edge 74a of the outer member 90. The vehicle exhaust evacuation system
16a further comprises a rigid pipe 82a and a flexible hose 84a. As shown
in FIG. 5A, a stop 86 in the form of a wire formed into a clover shape is
secured inside the pipe 82a and functions to prevent unwanted objects
from being pulled into the hose 84a.

[0030]While we have described only two embodiments of this invention,
persons skilled in this art will appreciate changes and modifications
which may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.